Nslh ating-tube for electric comd-uctors



UNITED ST1-vries AraNT CHAR-LES L. CLARKE, F EAST GRANGE, NE'W JERSEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Il'o. 358,592, dated March 1, 186.7.

Application tiled July 23, 1886.

To @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, Guitares L. CLARKE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident 'of East Orange, in the county of Essex and State 0f Newnersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Insulating-llubes for Elect-ric Conductors, ol which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a separate protective insulating covering for electric conductors, and which can be slipped over the conductor iu those places where the latter is exposed for making joints, or when used for making connections between the different parts of electrical instruments.

In connecting up thevarious parts of electrical apparatus it is customary, because more convenient, to use naked or impert'ectly-insu;

v latedwires,and to coverthem with short pieces of tubing, inl order to protect the conductors, over the spliccs, and to preventelectrical connection between the conductors and the metal portions of the apparatus. For this purpose it' is customary to employ rubber tubi ng,wh ich is made for such use and for the trade of various sizes. Thistubingissomewhatexpensive, and, besides that, it is apt 4to break or crack when bent around corners of the apparatus upon which it is used, and when the cases of the instrument are of metal, as is frequently the ease,false electrical connections are made, and much trouble is thereby experienced. Even thou h the tubi ng does not break or crack and expose the conductor when it is first used, yet it is very liable to do so after it has been in use for some time and exposed to the air.

Under such circumstances it becomes hard and brittle, and pieces ot' thrl rubber will separate from the wire, especially at the points where the insulation is most needed-namely, where the conductor is bent upon the corners of the instrument or when short turns are otherwise made. Y I have found another difficulty arising from the use bf the rubber tubing, which is that wheirit comes iu contact with oil used on the pivots of electrical apparatus it is dissolved and destroyed by the oil, and the wire is left exposed.

My invention is intended to avoid these difA culties by providing atubing free from these defects, which is as convenient to use asthc rubber tubing, and which can be produced at Serial No. Qty-",855, `(No model.)

a lower cost. ltconsisls in forming tubing'for the purposes mentioned of braided or woven fibrous or textile material, which may afterward be treated with a suitable insulating substance. The tubing can be manufactured of all the ordinary sizes for the purposes described, and when properly treated with insulating material-such as parafne-it becomes exceedingly pliable and durable. It can be turned over sharp corners ol' metal or wood without danger ot' exposing the yconductor or making false contacts between the' conductor and the frame of the instrument. An excellent tubing can be made from' cotton, jute, or silk, when desired, and I have found by experience that if treated in the ordinary manner with pa 'affine it remains pliable for an indefinite period, and will not break or crack. The tube may be woven or braided either upon alnandrel, from which it may be afterward removed, .or it may be woven upon the mandrel, from which it is removed as fast as it is formed; or other methods of manufacture maybe adopted. The tubing may be made either entirely of cotton or other textile fabric, or it may be formed upon the outside of atubing of rubber or othersirnilar material, in which case all the advantages of the ordinary tubing now in use are obtained, while the latter is fully protected by its external textile covering, and when the latter is treated with paraiiine'or some other suitable insulating material the inner rubber tubing is fully protected, and its insulating qualities remain practically perfect under circumstances which would destroy the tubing of rubber alone. The outside fibrous covering resists abrasion, will not crack open, and it is difficult to` sever it. So far as I have tested the matter l have found that pai'allinc gives excellent results when used for treating the tubing I have described, and will, I believe, answer all ordinary purposes; but otherinsulating and preservative substances may be used, as may be found advantageous underdiierent circumstances.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate m'y inventiom'Figure I shows a tube composed ol fibrous material, and Fig. 2 shows such a tube with au inner coreand which has been slipped over a piece of conducting-wire.

lu the drawings, a is ashort piece of ibrous tubing, woven, braided, or otherwise formed,f

ICO

`which, when dry, possessgood non-conduct' ing qualities, affords all needed protection and insulation for the Wires. The treatment with insulating material and the inner lining of in sulating material, as described, give the more thorough protection required for Wires when under circumstances of exposure to dnnlpness'V or other destructive influences. l

I do not herein claim a conductor around which' an insulating-covering has been Woveny braided, or otherwise permanently applied.

I claim as my invention- 1. As a new article of nianufacture,a flexible tube for receiving electric conductors, braided, woven, or otherwise formed from non-conducting fibrous substances.

2. As a new article of manufacturaa flexible tube forreeeiving electric conductors, formed by weaving, braiding, or otherwise from ncnconducting ibrous substances and having an inner lining of insulating material.

3. A s a new article oi manufacture,alexible tube for receiving electric conductors, braided, woven, or otherwise formed from iibrous substances and treated with insulating material.

4:.' As a newartiele of manufacture,a flexible tube-for reeeivingfelectrie conductors, braided, woven, or otherwise formed from fibrous substances, treated with insulating,` material, and having an inner tube or lining composed of in` ysul-ating material.

In testimony 'whereof I have hereunto Subscribed iny naine this 2lst day-of July, A. l).

lest.

CHARLES L. CLARKE,

Witnesses:

DANIEL W. EDGECOMB, CHARLES-A. TERRY. 

